A Study On Promoting Autonomous Learning In College EFL Classroom-An Exploratory Practice

Great attention has been given to foreign language teaching in China. Vice Prime Minister Li Lanqing points out that it should be recognized from the point of our national strategic development and international competition. But we have been facing the problem of'time consuming, less effective'. One reason is that learners lack autonomy. This paper develops the theory on how to promote autonomous learning and details one study conducted in an EFL classroom in Chifeng College. Analysis show the theories are of great help in promoting autonomous learning and Practice can be integrated into regular classroom life to help learners develop a sense of autonomy in language learning.The thesis presents the ideas in five parts. In Part One, issues central to understanding why autonomous learning should be promoted are discussed. The writer gives the background to learner autonomy research work in Chinese context in recent years and raise research question. In China, little Exploratory Practice has been done on promoting autonomous learning, especially for English majors. This thesis explores how teachers can help language learners.Part Two of this thesis concerns with theories of autonomous learning and factors related to it. Five issues are presented in this part. Firstly, learner autonomy; secondly, learner autonomy and dominant philosophies of learning; thirdly, teacher autonomy and autonomous learning, fourthly, author's suggested way to promote autonomous learning and lastly, summary. Descriptions by Holec and Benson are presented in this part. Holec describes learner autonomy as'the ability to take charge of one's learning'in 1981. The philosophies should be constructivism and interactivism. Constructivism posits the view that, rather than internalizing or discovering objective knowledge, individuals reorganize and restructure their experience. That is, they are actively involved in making their own sense of the language input. Thus Jerome Bruner views the development of conceptual understanding and of cognitive skills and strategies a central aim of education. Vygotsky emphasizes that social interaction and collaboration are essential to the learning process. According to his ZPD (zone of proximal development) theory, a teacher is not helpful unless he or she determines the actual developmental level and level of potential development. In one's own teaching,'the capacity, freedom, and/or responsibility to make choices constitute teacher autonomy. Allwright and Lenzuen observe that Exploratory Practice is a sustainable way of carrying out classroom investigations…using familiar classroom activities, rather than'academic'research techniques, as the investigative tools. The fourth session is about author's suggested way to promote autonomous learning which includes learner's current development confirming and syllabus design. A detail introduction as needs analysis, techniques for promoting independence in the classroom and test types are presented. The last session is summary. Questions needed to be considered when promoting autonomous learning are listed here.Part Three is about an experiment with freshmen of English-major in Chifeng College as subject. The experiment started with formulating the classroom puzzle, Exploratory Practice was carried out for a semester. Time distribution, materials added, activities and tasks are illustrated. Statistical analysis using SPSS13.0 indicates the success of the experiment. Interview also makes it clear that the experiment promotes autonomous learning.Part Four contains implication and suggestions. Changing belief in EFL teaching and changing roles of teachers should never be neglected. In order to promote autonomous learning in classroom, a teacher needs to study related theories such as psychology, language testing and research methods. Suggestions for directors are stimulating reflective learning and reflective teaching. We believe that learners'reflection on the learning is an essential part to improve autonomy; while for directors, judgments should be made until data collected are satisfactory.Part Five is a brief generalization of the main content of the thesis. Although deficiency of the experiment is also pointed out, the experiment is successful in the background that little research with statistical data has been done in China. The writer finally claims that this thesis aims to make more EFL teachers in China come to carry out practices to promote autonomous learning.